I walk through the pasture each day to see that the cattle are doing all right, and I check to see if Drive Me is ready to calve. For a while a number of the small stock were coughing, and we would give them shots to be sure that they did not get worse. Sometimes I try to herd a sick one into the shed, but this can be difficult when I am out there working alone. I found one of the calves too late, and it did not survive.
If their water tanks are low, I find the hose, attach it to the faucet, turn it on (takes all my strenght!), and wait for it to fill. In the winter we have to be sure to always remove the hoses; one year a hose was forgotten and that faucet was frozen until spring. Sometimes I have leather work boots on when I should have worn my rubber boots. Yesterday was one of these days. I crawled along a fence, clinging to the boards; I perched along the edge of the fence, pulling myself up to avoid the puddles of manure. Then a climbed over the gate and into the pasture behind the faucet. I held onto the fence while I attached the hose so that I would not step back into the muck. Then I crawled out to walk through another area of the pasture while waiting for the tank to fill. To turn the faucet off, I had to crawl, climb, and perch all over again.
Today is the day. Say good-bye to the turkey gobblers! This big guy is strutting and showing off to the females in the cage--beautiful bird!
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